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Comparative Constructions in Portuguese

Portuguese uses several different structures to express comparisons between two entities or concepts. The main comparative constructions are:

1. Mais/Menos + Adjective/Adverb

This is the most common way to form comparatives in Portuguese, similar to English. The words "mais" (more) and "menos" (less) precede the adjective or adverb.

• Ele é mais alto que eu. (He is taller than me.)
• Ela corre menos rápido. (She runs less quickly.)

2. Tão/Tanto + Adjective/Adverb + Como/Quanto

This structure expresses equality in a comparison, equivalent to "as...as" in English.

• O café está tão quente como o chá. (The coffee is as hot as the tea.)
• Ela não trabalha tanto quanto o irmão. (She doesn't work as much as her brother.)

3. Comparative Adjectives

Some adjectives have distinct comparative forms, like in English (good/better, bad/worse).

• Melhor (better), pior (worse), maior (bigger), menor (smaller)
• Este carro é melhor que aquele. (This car is better than that one.)

4. Periphrastic Comparatives

These use "mais...do que" (more...than) or "menos...do que" (less...than) with a noun or verb.

• Ela tem mais paciência do que eu. (She has more patience than me.)
• Ele estuda menos do que deveria. (He studies less than he should.)

Portuguese comparatives follow the same word order as their English counterparts, with the thing being compared first, followed by the comparison word(s), and then the entity being compared to.